thanks. yes I will definitely do a step-by-step log and post it up just waiting on the parts now. one of my work mates wants in on this aswell so hopefully between us we will be able to get a very good quality finish in less time.

just finished an all night shift so will brain-storm in bed. sad I know but really excited about this.

the only big issue at the minute I can see is the PS2 disk drive. ideally would like to use a PS2 slim but as I'm sure u all know it has the flip-up top and this would mean the top of the PS3 would need to accommodate this. does anybody know how compatible the PS2 Phat disk drive is with the slim?

already started thinking of phase two - same setup in a black aluminium case with flip up 19 inch 720 HD Screen, but will still have the option to bypass the screen and use on a bigger TV.

I should receive my lot of PS2's on thursday and need some advise if possible please. I've looked around the forum (and google) but can only find tutorials from years ago, so which PS2 system is the best for installing a HDD?

would ideally like to use the Slim, to save space, but I am not willing to sacrifice gameplay performance on the PS1 & PS2 games when playing from the HDD.

I have a PS2 phat with a network adapter and IDE hard disk attached - works well with HDLoader. However, if you'd like to use a slim, and since you are modding this thing together anyway, there is an excellent tutorial here that shows you how to wire an IDE cable to the header points on a slim. I'm not sure if later slim versions removed this header, but it's worth a look: hackaday.com/2005/02/14/hack-your-pstwo-to-support-a-hard-disk/

You could also use an IDE->USB adapter internally to connect the drive, and use USB advance or something to play the games.

The lasers used are different for each model, so it may be possible to reprogram the mainboard to use a different assembly (I remember a program back in the day used for this, although I never personally tested it). Fat model might be easier to use for tray loading and hard drive support.

i only want 1 game from my ps2 and thats ghosts 'n goblins from the capcom classics collection vol 1.. i wish they would release it on psn.. my ps2 fat still works and id love to see you do this as id give it a try too.. LOL